page_title: Germany Schaefer
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Germany Schaefer / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Portrait of Germany Schaefer published by Detroit Free Press 1908
context_page_description: Herman A. "Germany" Schaefer was a second baseman, first baseman and third baseman in Major League Baseball who played 15 seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Washington Senators, Newark Pepper, New York Yankees, and Cleveland Indians.
context_section_description: Born William Herman Schaefer in the south side of Chicago to German immigrant parents, he played in two World Series with the Tigers. During the 1909 season, Schaefer and Red Killefer were traded by the Tigers to the Senators for Jim Delahanty. In 1,150 career games, Schaefer batted .257 with 9 home runs and 201 stolen bases.
  Schaefer was known as both a baseball trickster and a tactician in the early years of 20th century baseball. Well liked, stories of his exploits dot both the memories of his contemporaries and the newspaper reports of the time. One of his most famous exploits was stealing first base, which was perhaps erroneously recalled in Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times by Detroit outfielder Davy Jones. With runners on first and third, a common ploy in baseball at the time was an attempted double steal, in which the runner heading from first (in this case Schaefer) ran for second, hoping to draw a throw from the catcher as the runner on third tried to scamper home. The catcher did not throw the first time, inspiring Schaefer to steal first base in reverse and then attempt the double steal once more on the following pitch. It worked in Jones' recollection although factual evidence of this is lacking.
  On August 4, 1911, Schaefer tried the same stunt again, this time for the Washington Senators, inspiring the Chicago White Sox' manager, Hugh Duffy, to come out of the dugout to protest. With the chaos on the field, Clyde Milan attempted to steal home, where he was thrown out. This event was recorded by both the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune on the following day.
  Although it was not passed until 1920, after Schaefer's death, a baseball rule (currently 5.09(b)(10)) states that a player is out if "After he has acquired legal possession of a base, he runs the bases in reverse order for the purpose of confusing the defense or making a travesty of the game. The umpire shall immediately call 'Time' and declare the runner out". It is often said that it was passed because of Schaefer's thefts.
  Though a clown on the field, Schaefer had a very sound baseball mind. He also made lots of friends throughout the baseball world, including the irascible Ty Cobb. Schaefer bestowed upon Walter Johnson his nickname "Barney" at a traffic stop, claiming that Johnson was Barney Oldfield, the racecar driver, a stunt that got him out of a speeding ticket. Schaefer modified his own moniker, "Germany", replacing it with "Liberty" after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917.
  Schaefer was the player representative present at the meeting held in preparation for the 1907 World Series between Schaefer's team, the Tigers, and the Chicago Cubs. The others in the meeting, discussing ground rules, players' pool, etc., were "Garry" Herrman, owner of the Cincinnati Reds and head of the Commission; the league presidents Ban Johnson and Harry Pulliam, the managers Hughie Jennings and Frank Chance, and the two umpires, Hank O'Day and Jack Sheridan. Schaefer asked "Is a tie game a legal game?" It was supposedly a trivial question, but Schaefer made a point: If there is a tie game in the Series, do the players share in its gate receipts? After a short discussion with Johnson and Pulliam, Herrman answered, 'The players' pool will include receipts from any tie games.' As luck would have it, the first game was a 12-inning, 3–3 tie, called due to darkness. The players shared in the receipts of all five games (the Cubs won the next four in a row). But a month later the Commission changed its ruling: The players share in the receipts of the first four games only, ties or no ties.
  Jimmy McAleer, Schaefer's manager with the Washington Senators, took him on several barnstorming all star trips, and with an all star team posing as the New York Giants he traveled around the world in 1913, playing a variety of positions and entertaining crowds and his teammates alike. In Ceylon, Schaefer even struck up a kinship with tea magnate Sir Thomas Lipton.
  Schaefer was a pioneer of baseball clowning, and his vaudeville act with teammate Charley O'Le
caption: Schaefer in 1908 with Detroit
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